On February 7, 2025, Grand Gesture Books held a matchmaking event as one of their many gatherings this month. Katherine Morgan, the owner, put together a long list of events for this month in particular, in anticipation of the romantic vibes of February. The store itself is an ode to the romance genre as a whole, covering all categories of books such as young adult, adult, non-fiction, and even a specific section for Pacific Northwest authors—of which I purchased a book from during the event because I can not help myself. To Katherine, Grand Gesture Books is a store “geared towards celebrating you in every relationship aspect that you have whether you are single, married, just ended something, or just want to celebrate your friendships.”
For the month of February, the store set up a table for a “Blind Date With a Book”, filled with wrapped books placed in brown paper bags stuffed with socks and candy. This particular batch was their last.
When asked about what the intention of the night was, Katherine said, “It’s hard to make friends as an adult, so I wanted to create a space where you could make new friends and if something romantic does develop, great! But the main thing was to get people out there and try something new.” Focusing on friendships, Katherine wanted to put a spotlight on platonic love, and celebrating the friendships that can also be the love of your life.
The event started right at 6:30 p.m. with snacks and non-alcoholic beverages in the corner next to the non-fiction titles. The music playing from the bluetooth speaker behind the checkout stand set the vibe for a fun and playful time, with songs playing from every genre. As people walked in, Katherine asked them to fill out a name tag with their first name, preferred pronouns, and a fun fact about themselves. Katherine’s fun fact happened to be that they saw Beyonce five times, while mine was that I saw the Eras tour twice. Some had fun facts about their pets, their jobs, a League of Legends talent scale, and one in particular stood out claiming that they indeed kissed Katy Perry. As soon as the attendees hit the floor, there was nothing stopping them from talking to each other. The store became loud as I wandered around listening to conversations and putting down every book I wanted to buy, telling myself no.
I spoke with a couple of people who were there asking what brought them out here, and the common answer was that they wanted to make friends because it is hard to do so as an adult. Getting out of their bubble is tough, and getting to be in a space specifically created to make connections seemed fun and easy. They also highlighted the importance of coming out and supporting a local, black-owned bookstore in the city of Portland.
Once the individual groups had all met each other, a circle began to form in the middle of the floor. Each person went around and read off their name tag to introduce themselves, some hearing fun facts that fit well with theirs. To finish off the evening, a group of actors set up some scenes from—in my personal opinion—one of the greatest rom-coms ever made, “You’ve Got Mail.” They had a narrator to set the scenes, two people to play the in-person versions of Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly, and two to play the anonymous chat versions of them. To tie it all together, a print hangs in the corner of the book shop with the quote, “Don’t cry, shopgirl.”
All in all, the evening was a wonderful, safe, and loving environment for anyone who went. Located by the Multnomah library and easily accessible by the streetcar or Max, the store is a great place to pop into and browse. Look for the sign above the tote bags, it does not lie. A supportive space is hard to come by, but Katherine nails it with the inclusivity of Grand Gesture Books.
Photos courtesy of Rory Miner
